State NFL roundup: Philip Rivers, Tyreek Hill reach rare heights

Los Angeles quarterback Philip Rivers said he should have thrown for 600 yards in the Chargers' season-opening game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

As it was, the former Athens High School standout completed 34-of-51 passes for 424 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

The three touchdown passes during his 10th 400-yard game lifted Rivers past Fran Tarkenton on the NFL's all-time list. The only players in league history with more TD passes than Rivers' 345 are Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Dan Marino.

As it turned out, though, Rivers needed the 600 yards because of Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who led Kansas City to a 38-28 victory.

The former West Alabama standout scored on his first two touches of the 2018 season with a 91-yard punt return and a 58-yard reception. He also scored on a 1-yard catch with 9:42 left in the game as the Chiefs took a 38-20 lead.

Hill became the third player in NFL history to catch a touchdown pass of at least 50 yards and return a punt at least 90 yards for a touchdown in the same game. Bob Hayes did it for the Dallas Cowboys against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1968, and Tavon Austin did it for the St. Louis Rams against the Indianapolis Colts in 2013.

Rivers and Hill were among the 30 former Alabama high school and college players (that didn't play for Alabama or Auburn) who got on the field on the first Sunday of the NFL's 2018 season.

Other former state players who started on Sunday included:

Outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith (Greenville) of the Baltimore Ravens made a team-leading five tackles, including a sack and two behind the line of scrimmage, and knocked down a pass in a 47-3 victory over the Buffalo Bills.

Defensive end Mario Addison (Tarrant, Troy) and left cornerback James Bradberry (Pleasant Grove, Samford) of the Carolina Panthers in a 16-8 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Addison had three tackles, including 1.5 sacks, and forced a fumble, and Bradberry made a one tackle. Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott fumbled when sacked by Addison, and Carolina recovered with 1:27 left to play to seal its victory.

Running back Jordan Howard (Gardendale, UAB) of the Chicago Bears ran for 82 yards on 15 carries and caught five passes for 25 yards in a 24-23 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Right defensive end Michael Johnson (Dallas County) of the Cincinnati Bengals had one tackle and one quarterback hit in a 34-23 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

Right offensive tackle Chris Hubbard (UAB) of the Cleveland Browns in a 21-21 overtime tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Strong safety Darian Stewart (Lee-Huntsville) made three tackles and shared a sack in a 27-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

Weakside inside linebacker Zach Cunningham (Pinson Valley) of the Houston Texans made a team-leading eight tackles in a 27-20 loss to the New England Patriots.

Defensive tackle Darius Philon (Vigor) of the Chargers made one tackle against the Chiefs.

Cornerback Bobby McCain (Oxford) of the Miami Dolphins made two tackles and broke up two passes in a 27-20 victory over the Tennessee Titans. At 7 hours, eight minutes, the game was the longest in NFL history. It had two delays for lightning -- the first lasted 1:57 and the second 2:02.

Left defensive end Trey Flowers (Columbia) of the Patriots made five tackles, including 1.5 sacks, and had three quarterback hits against the Texans.

Right cornerback Janoris Jenkins (North Alabama) of the New York Giants made a team-leading seven tackles, intercepted a pass and broke up another pass in a 20-15 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Strong safety Jaquiski Tartt (Davidson, Samford) of the San Francisco 49ers made six tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage, and broke up a pass in a 24-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Middle linebacker Kwon Alexander (Oxford) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a team-leading nine tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage, and forced a fumble in a 48-40 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Cornerback Malcolm Butler (West Alabama) and center Ben Jones (Bibb County) of the Titans against the Dolphins. Butler made five tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage, intercepted a pass and broke up another throw. Butler made his interception in the end zone and returned it 34 yards in his first game with Tennessee.

Panthers offensive tackle Blaine Clausell (Baker) was active, but he did not play against the Cowboys.

The NFL's opening week concludes on Monday with the New York Jets visiting the Detroit Lions at 6:10 p.m. CDT and the Los Angeles Rams visiting the Oakland Raiders at 9:20. ESPN will televise both games.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.